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Police Commissioner-General Augustine Chihuri

Crime Reporter
Police Commissioner-General Augustine Chihuri has said police will continue mounting roadblocks on the country’s roads despite criticism from individuals and organisations that the roadblocks are too many to serve any useful purpose.
He was speaking at the hand-over of traffic enforcement equipment donated by the Commercial Bank of Zimbabwe in Harare last week.

CBZ donated 500 traffic vests, 500 raincoats, 30 intersection traffic centre boxes and five Yamaha motor cycles.

Comm Gen Chihuri said there was no country in the world which did not have police roadblocks.

“Let me comment on so many questions that have arisen even from Parliament and various other people,” he said. “They have said traffic road blocks are too many. Let me categorically and clearly say the following points which I think would be conveyed by the media to them so that they can spare me by asking me the same questions all the time. There is no country in the world that doesn’t have police road blocks. Setting up police road blocks is a police function and it is decided by the police in terms of the law. As long as there are roads, motor vehicles and criminals, road blocks would be set.

“Whether they are many or not many, that is the decision of the police because that is part of our mandate. What some people call many might be too little for us.”

Comm Gen Chihuri said the police managed to curb road carnage and recovered stolen property as a result of road blocks.

His sentiments follow complaints last Monday by long-distance bus operators that revenue targets given to traffic police officers at roadblocks had contributed to increased corruption.

Comm Gen Chihuri said: “Because of road blocks, accidents during the Christmas holidays went down, the death toll fell by half, even though the roads are too narrow, and full of potholes. Police have managed to bring this down.”

Comm Gen Chihuri said officers should heed the deadline of up to the end of next month to pull out of commuter transport businesses.

“Those ones who have been operating kombis wind up,” he said. “Time has been given to you. Once the deadline is up, anyone found out will have themselves to blame.